Many students want to go abroad for higher education, and New Zealand (NZ) has shot right to the top of the popularity list. NZ is known for its high-quality education with global pathways and outstanding work-life balance. In addition, it allows most students to work part-time while studying, thus offering them the opportunity to gain skills and prepare for the future.
Different supporting documents are required depending on where you are applying from and your individual situation. Please remember that along with evidence of funds to support your study, you must also provide evidence to show you have enough money to cater for your living expenses while you study in NZ.
What are the challenges of applying for a Student Visa?
Getting a student visa is often strenuous as one must meet the complex immigration policies. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is very particular while assessing the documentary evidence submitted for obtaining a Student Visa. As per INZ, students must have sufficient funds for fees and living expenses in acceptable form for the entire study duration in NZ.
Why is it essential to submit verifiable and credible funds?
INZ ensures that the evidence of funds provided by the student is genuine, available, and accessible. Once they are 100% satisfied that the funds will be available to the student in NZ under the applicant’s name, the sponsor, or the financial guarantor, they will consider the applicant bona fide. If INZ cannot ascertain the source of funds, the application will likely be declined.
Historically INZ has found Gold loans, funds held by the post office or cooperative societies, mutual funds, bonds, property sales and agricultural income challenging to verify and hence are not readily accepted by them as credible and genuine funds.
Who is an INZ-accepted financial guarantor?
A financial guarantor is acceptable by INZ only if they are an immediate family member and the relationship can be proved. This can include the applicant’s partner or spouse, a parent, sibling, grandparent or parent-in-law. The evidence to prove the relationship with the sponsor is very critical, hence only acceptable documents should be submitted.
In which form are funds usually accepted by INZ?
An applicant can provide a wide range of financial information, such as:
1. Banking Information
This can include past six months’ bank statements, bank deposit statements/certificates or fixed deposit certificates at least six months old. If the bank account has been recently opened or the statement shows large deposits, the applicant must explain the source and corroborating evidence, if possible.
An applicant can provide a loan sanction letter from an acceptable financial institute, stock transaction reports or sale of property agreements. For most countries, INZ does not accept funds sourced from property sales, gold loans or reappropriated funds unless the funds have been in the account for six months or more and the source can be verified.
Remember that INZ only accepts loan sanction letters from nationalized or multi-national banks that are secured against fixed assets belonging to the applicant of the financial guarantor. Evidence of how the loan will be repaid also needs to be provided.
Only public and employee provident fund accounts are acceptable by INZ. Along with this, the applicant has to provide documents confirming the employment, such as Income Tax Returns, Income Tax statements, Financial statements, salary statements or an employee reference letter from the employer.
2. Information about income
An applicant can provide a lot of evidence regarding this, such as tax returns showing income and savings patterns and evidence of income generated from assets. For instance, if you own property that has been rented out, you can provide proof of ownership and tax paid on the income.
Besides this, applicants can also provide a letter from the employer confirming their position, duration of work and income. If self-employed, recent business tax returns with an income statement or recent business bank statement showing daily transactions can be provided.
3. What is a Payment Plan, and how can it be used?
For anyone planning on studying in NZ for more than 12 months, a payment plan with documentary evidence can be submitted that explains how you will fund your future years of study. The money to support your first year of study (or first course if it is less than one year) must be readily available. The payment plan
You must support your payment plan with your income documents and saving spread over three years. As proof of your payment plan, you can submit Tax Returns. These must reflect your income patterns. You can submit various forms of acceptable savings details showing the yearly accumulation of funds. You can also include saving account statements which may include recent funds in them and provide the source of those funds. You may include any fixed deposit due to mature next year.
Conclusion
A visa decline can be disheartening. Hence one must ensure that the correct information/documents are provided with a student visa application to avoid disappointment. Evidence of funds must be in your or your financial guarantor’s name. Do not include evidence of funds that INZ cannot confirm as genuine.
INZ accepts education loans as evidence of money, but only if they are from nationalised or multi-national banks with security against fixed assets that belong to you or your financial guarantor. You must provide evidence of how you will repay the loan and a loan sanction letter that states the security, moratorium period, interest payable, repayments, and details of the security offered for the loan.
Get in touch with Immigration Advisors New Zealand Ltd, which provides up-to-date immigration information so you can consider opportunities and prepare yourself for the future. To know all the required procedures, contact us at contact@nzimmigration.info or call on +64 09 3790219.
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